Supporting ministries for older people across Sydney

Ministry events 

The following events are offered by CatholicCare Sydney to participating parishes. Events selected by each parish will be based on the interests of their community. CatholicCare welcomes financial contributions from participating parishes to help sustain these activities.

Be Connected – an introduction to the digital world

In partnership with the Australian Government, CatholicCare Sydney delivers the Be Connected technology workshops for parishioners 50+, including access to digital devices during the training session.

Workshops cover many topics, including the basics, such as getting started online, safety online, using mobile phones, connecting to others, social media apps, and internet banking.

Through Be Connected, older Australians will be able to learn the basics of using digital devices and safely engaging with the Internet, including:

• Contacting family/friends who live far away
• Connecting with old friends on social media
• Keeping up to date with their communities and around the world

Be Connected is here to ensure Australians with limited internet skills aren’t feeling isolated from their family and community. By approaching this with a family and community-focused approach, older Australians can ensure they can bridge the digital divide.

Volunteer Companion Training

Volunteer Companion Training consists of seven foundational modules and one additional module specific to the chosen area of support:

• Companioning for older people to reduce loneliness and isolation
• Companioning for those going through a difficult transitional period in their lives
• Companioning for those with a life-limiting illness and their loved ones

Training is offered face-to-face or online and is supported by CatholicCare’s online learning platform.

Participants are guided through topics such as:

• What is Accompaniment?
• Self-care
• Setting Boundaries
• Loss, Grief and Trauma-Informed Care and Response
• Generative Listening and Speaking

The training supports participants in growing their confidence and capacity to be with someone who is isolated, vulnerable, and in need of care in a variety of settings and life circumstances.

Ageing Well Masterclasses

Join our FREE, seven-week masterclass program!

Bringing together a team of clinical experts and professionals, the Ageing Well masterclass program covers everything you need to know from staying connected to community, diet and exercise, navigating the many choices around ageing support, financial and legal planning, and why mental health matters as we age.

• Masterclass 1: Social Connection and Psychological Wellbeing
  Explores the importance of social connections, discusses mental illness in later life and introduces the 5-ways to wellbeing.
• Masterclass 2: Physical Wellbeing
  Discusses the importance of physical exercise, nutrition, falls prevention, health checks, carer fatigue and memory loss in later life.
• Masterclass 3: Navigating Aged Care
  Outlines the aged care options for older adults from Retirement Living, to Home Care, to Residential Care communities.
• Masterclass 4: Planning for your future - financial and legal decisions
  Service NSW discusses the importance of planning for your older age right now and outlines what needs your careful consideration.
• Masterclass 5: Using the internet safely and avoiding financial abuse
  Explores how to protect the information stored on your computer and discusses the very real problem of financial elder abuse. Practical tips to avoid being scammed are included in this session.
• Masterclass 6: Ageing Gracefully, Living Fruitfully
  Explores Catholic spirituality and the blessings and challenges of a more faith-filled life.
• Masterclass 7: Sharing Circle
  A guided group discussion providing a safe space for sharing experiences, challenges, and wisdom on ageing well.

^{CatholicCare Sydney delivers Ageing Well in collaboration with Catholic Healthcare and Grief Care.}

Living Well Dying Well 

Living Well Dying Well is a two-part workshop that discusses what it means to live well and how it shapes dying well. An initiative of the Archdiocese of Sydney, it aims to normalise conversations about death and dying so that we are better able to support those with a life-limiting illness and their loved ones.

Living Well Dying Well is a collaboration of Catholic parishes and agencies working with palliative care services to enhance these services through the provision of volunteers. These volunteers accompany sick people and their families, and offer them presence, and support that complements and supplements beyond the professional care delivered by doctors, nurses and allied health professionals that form the bedrock of these services.

Living Well Dying Well is thus a Catholic program which aims to enhance the journey of people who are sick and may be approaching their end of life. It seeks to form a caring and compassionate community around these people, support them more fully, respond to their needs and help their families with the care that is needed.

^{Living Well Dying Well is a collaboration between CatholicCare Sydney, CatholicCare Broken Bay, Catholic Cemeteries and Crematoria, Grief Care, University of Notre Dame, St Vincent’s Health Australia and Catholic Healthcare.}

Bereavement Support

In partnership with Grief Care, CatholicCare will deliver specialised training, resources and support to volunteers to enable them to support others in their local community. Support provided will focus on the following key areas:

• Planning funerals, practical support and dealing with grief
• Pastoral care, companioning and bereavement
• Bereavement education